David Dastmalchian has devilish time with ‘Late Night’

David Dastmalchian’s acting credits are long and impressive. He’s appeared in films ranging from “The Suicide Squad” to “Oppenheimer” while his TV work includes appearances on “MacGyver,” “The Flash” and “Ray Donovan.” He was in seven movies that were produced or released in 2023.

Despite all his work, Dastmalcian has never been a guest on one of the late-night talk shows.

“For all the press that I have done, I have never done talk shows like that,” Dastmalchian says. “I always thought it would be cool. I have always hoped that I would get the chance to go on Jimmy Fallon or Seth Meyers. I love Stephen Colbert.

“I grew up watching [Johnny] Carson and [David] Letterman thinking ‘I wonder what that would be like.’”

The Kansas native may be getting the last laugh as he plays a talk show host in the new horror film “Late Night with the Devil.” The film is currently in theaters and will be on Shudder starting April 19.

Channeling a bit of Tom Snyder, Dastmalchian plays Jack Delroy, the host of the syndicated late night talk show “Night Owls.” His big attempt to get out of Johnny Carson’s rating shadow is an Oct. 31, 1977, special. A year after the death of his wife, ratings have plummeted, and Delroy plans a Halloween special like no other. He just doesn’t know what evil is about to be unleashed.

Just because he has never been a late-night talk show guest didn’t stop Dastmalchian from knowing exactly how to play the character. And that meant a lot more than slipping into 70s fashions and sporting long sideburns.

“He is a guy who is deeply traumatized by the loss of the love of his life,” Dastmalchian says. “He is a guy who has always believed if he could get that ratings break he could finally really have an impact on entertainment.

“He knew how much potential joy he could bring to all these people who work around him. That he could help them have great jobs. He is a good guy who feels things deeply.”

The key driving force as far as Dastmalchian sees the character is the obsession with getting the TV ratings that will make him a star. His plan to get the viewers on Halloween night includes inviting a group of those who make a living with the supernatural world.

It starts with the psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) whose reading of the crowd doesn’t go well. He becomes the target of a very evil spirit.

The other guests include Gus McConnell (Rhys Auteri), a former magician who now debunks the supernatural, and Lilly (Ingrid Torelli) a young girl possessed by a demon. The spirit in Lilly is kept in check by a doctor who has written a book about the girl.

At the center of the TV carnival of terror is Delroy. Dastmalchian pulled from a lot of talk show hosts from that era including Synder and Don Lane, a Chicago native who became a big deal in Australia’s late-night TV world. He also tossed in bits of Phil Donahue and Morton Downey Jr.

It is not just the talk show influences and wardrobe that make the film look like a TV show from a half century ago. Everything from the graphics used to go to commercial breaks to the set all have the look of that era.

Because the story takes place on the set of the TV show, there were times that the production had the feel of a stage play to Dastmalchian. Part of the design even included a studio audience.

That design felt comfortable to Dastmalchian as he studied at The Theatre School of DePaul University and started his professional career on stage in Chicago.

“It transported me back to the days of being in Chicago on stage and performing at some of those theaters that I used to love,” Dastmalchian says. “I am so grateful for the years I spent doing theater because I really feel like it influenced the work I was doing in ‘Late Night with the Devil.’”

The horror film is the latest in an acting career that has had Dastmalchian playing roles that ranged from a blob of goo to a historical figure. He grew up obsessed with Lon Chaney and that made him want to be an actor who could transform into roles where he would be unrecognizable. He will always go for roles where he can disappear, and the audience would never know it was him. At the same time, he has found plenty of work in roles that have brought him a lot of box office attention. Dastmalchian is one of the handful of actors who have played characters in Marvel and DC movies. That should be an interesting enough point of discussion for any late-night talk show host.

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